The Devine Chronicles

Righteousness Maximus

2007-05-02T15:10:00.000-07:00

So this has been called the earliest heated presidential race in sometime, and thankfully our position in the Granite state has allowed us to see primary politics first hand. As many policy hand shakers make there way to presidential candidates at these events and attempt to make there way to the media, above the rest medical marijuana advocates have made our views of compassion visible to the candidates. Recently the Union Leader, a leading publication in NH, said, "Of all the special interest groups so far involved in the primary campaign, advocates of medical marijuana have been the most active and most visible to this point." This is extremely inspiring news to people after losing a close vote in the state house a few weeks ago. I urge everyone to keep an eye out for medical marijuana in the media to realize how motivated we are to this cause.

"The Weekend of that Concert" Guide to staying awesome

2007-04-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

So as the "Weekend of the Concert" fast approaches you better get your survival guide ready. Rarely are you more likely to get nabbed on this campus for a backpack full of Brewskis or an occasional hobble step. Nonetheless if you want to have some fun this weekend I have some Recommendations in my "Weekend of that Concert Guide to staying Awesome"

Jog with a Backpack full of soda cans. This will really fluster the police and its even more fun when you don't consent to any searches. Be sure to make your way between lakeview and the baseball field if you want to get attacked from the bushes.
Yell out your windows to strangers. With all the stuff going down on campus lately be sure to let your friends and neighbors know about those creepy folks walking circles around your Tower, Lakeview, or Dorm.
Wear very Americanized clothing. We all know a great Bob Marley shirt can get you through life but why be the kid they decide to jump out for.
Plan Ahead. The more of a plan you have going into "The weekend of the concert" the more likely you are to execute it with awesomeness and stick with your friends.
Go Early. Anything that is going on has time limits, the fun can only last so long so the earlier you go to anything this weekend the more fun you'll be able to have.

Well that is my plan for the weekend. I have to attend the SSDP Northeast regional Conference, but I'll be at the concert rocking out so feel free to come up to me and critique the guide.

O-H....CRA-Z

2007-03-08T10:27:00.000-08:00

So this sheriff from Ohio decided to send a bill to Mexico for a big pot bust that they had, his perspective in blaming it on the Mexican government was do to the fact that they are not doing enough to stop the flow of drugs into the US.

This is like blaming a transportation department for people speeding. Apparently its Mexico's fault that there is such a high demand for marijuana in the US.

The $61,000 bill includes a $1000 dollar fine for each pound of marijuana that the police confiscated in the raid. This is the same guy that sent a bill to the US government for illegal immigrants that were being held in his correctional facilities.

Sending a bill to Mexico is probably one of the dumbest things you could due to solve the crisis that is the war on drugs. Maybe the sheriff should send a bill to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick's desk since marijuana was the number one cash crop in that state. Then again Marijuana is the number one cash crop in the country. Essentially every dollar earned by people selling the most profitable agriculture crop in the nation is untaxed.

This in itself is depressing. Blaming other countries for the failure of US drug policy is not going to help solve the many problems we see like prison over crowding and overdoses.

The simple economics of it explain it all. In the US there is massive limitless demand for marijuana. The poor Mexican farmer thinks, "Hey marijuana is a simple crop to grow and I can buy my kids shoes." The border runner thinks to himself "Hey the US gets less then 1% of drugs coming into the country." and the standard American marijuana salesmen says, "Hey these Mexicans are selling this stuff dirt cheap."

So Mexico I wish you the best in dealing with your problems, but i doubt you will be considering some nut job sheriff to be one of them.

Supreme Court to Decide the fate of Free Speech

2007-02-28T17:38:00.000-08:00

On March 19th the Supreme Court will hear the case of the Juneau, Alaska School Board Vs. Joseph Frederick. Four years ago when the Olympic torch passed through Juneau, Frederick held up a banner that said,"Bong Hits For Jesus."
The event took place off school grounds, however Frederick was handed a ten day suspension. This penalty however was turned over in appeals court and has now made it all the way to the highest court in our nation. This case will literally determine a students free speech when talking about drugs at all.
The school board said that the 10 day suspension penalty was warranted due to the school's drug free mission. Even though this was off campus and a person has every right to say anything that doesn't offend or hurt anyone. The idea that the School Board has been willing to rack up $100,000 dollars in legal fees over this is very sad. Tax payer dollars have been extremely wasted and if the school board loses they will be forces to pay the additional $100,000 in legal fees that Frederick has racked up.
The DC office of Students for Sensible Drug Policy has filed a Amicus Curiae Brief to the Supreme court on behalf of Frederick. The brief highlights how important it is for students to be able and discuss the important issue that is drugs. With so much drug war propaganda being focused at students the idea they would not be able to take part in the discussion is nothing less then absurd.
Ken Starr had also decided to take the case for free, apparently the extra marital activities of the republican party just aren't flashy enough for him.
Recently a High School student who wanted to form a chapter of SSDP saw much opposition from his school over their drug free policy. The ACLU was kind enough to change that Principal's opinion with a simple phone call. Hopefully the Supreme Court will also see this as a basic instance of free speech that just pushed a few people's buttons.